P.25Promoting Cycling
This is the act of actively pursuing a policy of getting more people to take up cycling or of existing cyclists to cycle more. The main objective of promoting cycling is to improve health and to gain environmental benefits by reducing the amount of motorised traffic. In Hong Kong the environmental benefits of promoting cycling will be minimal because there are very few people to switch from cars to bicycles due to the low levels of car ownership and high quality of public transport. The promotion of cycling overseas is often allied to other issues such as pedestrianisation and traffic calming.
The promotion of cycling is an overt act and is active rather than passive or merely reactive and must include some of the assistance issues discussed above if it is to be safe and successful.

P.16Review of standard justifications for Promoting Cycling

Justifications for Promoting Cycling(From UK National Cycling Strategy)
1. Health - cycling can improve health by lowering the risk of heart disease, shedding excess weight and increasing fitness. Tests have shown that after 4 to 5 months of regular cycling, aerobic fitness improves by an average of 13% and body fat falls by an average of two to three Kg. Regular exercise reduces stress and contributes to mental well being.
2. Environment - increasing cycling benefits the environment by cutting carbon dioxide emissions and reducing noise.
3. Education - the establishment of safer routes to schools of road safety issues and improve of what schools, colleges and universities are doing to provide facilities for cyclists forms a valuable part of the overall picture.
4. Access to Employment - by making it easier for people to get to work by bicycle employers increase the potential labour force available to them.
5. Sustainable Tourism - The development of more widespread cycle routes will enhance access to the countryside and open up new opportunities for tourism. Rural economies will benefit from the increase in passing trade.

Comments in Relation to Hong Kong
1. The British Medical Association concluded that for the UK, the overall health benefits injury to individual cyclists. No similar study has been done for Hong Kong but since the majority of additional cycling which would take place would be in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, one would need to be very certain of the benefits before undertaking a programme of promotion in these areas based on health benefits alone.
2. There seems to be no circumstance in which increases in the level of cycling in the urban areas would reduce traffic congestion in Hong Kong. This is because, unlike other developed economies, Hong Kong has a very low level of car ownership and a very high level of public transport usage. In practice due to the need for traffic calming in order to introduce on-street cycling facilities there would be a tendency for traffic congestion to increase which could contradict the environmental aims.
3. This is unlikely to be applicable to Hong Kong since public transport and private coaches are widely used to take children to and from school. In any event routes would need to be in place first and the underlying safely problems resolved.
4. It is unlikely that given the generally affordable public transport fares and high frequency of service that there are many employers who cannot find workers and at this point in time there is currently ample labour available in Hong Kong.
5. It is agreed that this is applicable to Hong Kong and is currently being pursued under the cycle track studies for the New Territories. (see para. 4.4.4.1)

let me say something.
l ive in HK. Honestly, in Hk, there are road( bicycles only), that covered at NT area. But, in so area, many people(non- cyclists) occupied the bike track, and they are NASTY. This is the major problem. Say, some parts, u NEVER can ride the speed over 35KM/ hr due to NSATY guys. there are only few guys would give u a way. becuase they think cyling is nonsense, and u wont ride fast. I think they are foolish. A road bike usually ride at leats 30KM/hr. It likes a bus' speed in HK.

BUT, some section--both bike only and gerneral road are suitable for cycling. A small area--called Sai Kung, most drivers will not ahead u. They usaully a Sai Kung residents and most are natives(non-Chinese).

@ week i ride for 200KM in HK. @ trip took 50KM. In 50KM, there is only 8-10KM that is NASTY, becos of Nasty GUYS.

Since I am not live in town in HK, cycling is still fine. Riding on road is also rated "acceptable".
I usally ride near Chinese border. so there are not many cars. But the Big long Trucks normally will not cross ahead. BUT U HAVE to beware of it.

p.s. cycling in HK, U MUST ride only on the specialized bicycle trail or ROAD(not expressway). Otherwise, crops will charge u !

Everyone gets out for a cycle (can't really complain about that), but huge numbers of them have zero road sense and near zero cycling ability. It is absolute carnage with people crashing into oncoming bikes, groups stopping in odd places and blocking the path, beginners wobbling around dangerously.

I was on the path beside the Shing Mun River (Shatin) last Tuesday and I almost cleaned up a bunch of people with no clue. They are SO lucky I have good brakes and the experience to use them.

Then how about taking a car into Mainland China over the weekend and have a nice long ride there? Are there good paved roads in Mainland China? Is there good transportation like a train where a rider may take the bike and ride Saturday and Sunday to come back Sunday evening?

because they bad-mouthed mainland Chinese as being a low grade 3rd world country by using bicycle as one of the main source for transportation. So they've decided to remain classy and refuse to ride a bicycle because it makes them look like a Chinese mainlander themselves.

Whether it is a black bicycle or a white bicycle, if it can get me from point A to point B efficiently, then it is good mode of transportation.

P.25Promoting Cycling
This is the act of actively pursuing a policy of getting more people to take up cycling or of existing cyclists to cycle more. The main objective of promoting cycling is to improve health and to gain environmental benefits by reducing the amount of motorised traffic. In Hong Kong the environmental benefits of promoting cycling will be minimal because there are very few people to switch from cars to bicycles due to the low levels of car ownership and high quality of public transport. The promotion of cycling overseas is often allied to other issues such as pedestrianisation and traffic calming.
The promotion of cycling is an overt act and is active rather than passive or merely reactive and must include some of the assistance issues discussed above if it is to be safe and successful.

P.16Review of standard justifications for Promoting Cycling

Justifications for Promoting Cycling(From UK National Cycling Strategy)
1. Health - cycling can improve health by lowering the risk of heart disease, shedding excess weight and increasing fitness. Tests have shown that after 4 to 5 months of regular cycling, aerobic fitness improves by an average of 13% and body fat falls by an average of two to three Kg. Regular exercise reduces stress and contributes to mental well being.
2. Environment - increasing cycling benefits the environment by cutting carbon dioxide emissions and reducing noise.
3. Education - the establishment of safer routes to schools of road safety issues and improve of what schools, colleges and universities are doing to provide facilities for cyclists forms a valuable part of the overall picture.
4. Access to Employment - by making it easier for people to get to work by bicycle employers increase the potential labour force available to them.
5. Sustainable Tourism - The development of more widespread cycle routes will enhance access to the countryside and open up new opportunities for tourism. Rural economies will benefit from the increase in passing trade.

Comments in Relation to Hong Kong
1. The British Medical Association concluded that for the UK, the overall health benefits injury to individual cyclists. No similar study has been done for Hong Kong but since the majority of additional cycling which would take place would be in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, one would need to be very certain of the benefits before undertaking a programme of promotion in these areas based on health benefits alone.
2. There seems to be no circumstance in which increases in the level of cycling in the urban areas would reduce traffic congestion in Hong Kong. This is because, unlike other developed economies, Hong Kong has a very low level of car ownership and a very high level of public transport usage. In practice due to the need for traffic calming in order to introduce on-street cycling facilities there would be a tendency for traffic congestion to increase which could contradict the environmental aims.
3. This is unlikely to be applicable to Hong Kong since public transport and private coaches are widely used to take children to and from school. In any event routes would need to be in place first and the underlying safely problems resolved.
4. It is unlikely that given the generally affordable public transport fares and high frequency of service that there are many employers who cannot find workers and at this point in time there is currently ample labour available in Hong Kong.
5. It is agreed that this is applicable to Hong Kong and is currently being pursued under the cycle track studies for the New Territories. (see para. 4.4.4.1)

I'm now riding to and from work (Causeway Bay) on an old road bike that I fixed up to be single speed. All going well so far. The locals think I'm nuts.

Also rode all the way around the Island today (as much as is possible on the roads that loop around) and it was not as far as I thought. It is not possible to go down some areas as the road is one way in and one way out, so my loop was only 39km.

I recently moved here to HK and currently living on HK island. Ive been itching to get a road bike but don't know anyone here that rides. if you guys do meet up or would like to train together, that would be a ton of fun.

lets try to plan something out. ive seen a lot of ppl riding road bikes around the peak area.

Forwarded from Martin Turner's post on the massridehk Yahoo group mail:

"For the second time in a month, SCMP has a strong leader calling on the government to promote cycling as transport on the roads, saying "A huge shift in thinking is obviously needed.". (Both items were generated by SCMP editors, not prompted by HKCAll or anyone else.)

Can you write a follow-up letter, to help build on this momentum? Agree or expand on the ideas, just keep cycling in the public eye when we have the chance."

A form of transport that promotes a healthy lifestyle, emits zero air pollution, uses little road space and rarely leads to serious accidents would surely be embraced by any government. These are the well-documented benefits of bicycles, and enlightened cities the world over are increasingly making room for them in plans and policies. They would surely ease Hong Kong's traffic congestion, smog, stress and increasing obesity, yet authorities have taken quite the opposite tack. Instead of encouraging cyclists, they're going out of their way to keep them off the streets.

Our government's position is clear. It has openly stated that cycling is a recreational activity, not a viable alternative to trains, buses and cars. It doesn't provide cycling lanes on roads, makes little effort to link existing paths and leaves few legal parking spaces in public areas. As this newspaper reported last Sunday, thousands of bikes are annually confiscated for being illegally parked; the total was 10,846 last year. Such an approach is abhorrent to governments elsewhere that are more sensitive to the needs and demands of their citizens. European and North American cities have over the past two decades been making more space for cyclists, most notably across Germany and in the US city of Portland, and famously in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, where 40 per cent of traffic is on two wheels. The success of Paris' public bike rental programme, Velib, has been such that variations have sprouted globally; one in Mexico City has proved immensely popular, despite smog, bad drivers and thin air. London will launch its version on Friday.

It's easy to see why authorities here aren't interested in Hong Kong developing a cycling culture. Infrastructure is a core part of the government's development strategy; the highways, bridges and tunnels it builds for traffic keep revenue flowing and create jobs. Senior civil servants in relevant bureaus and departments can justify their existence by coming up with such ideas. And then there's the reality that the high cost of registering, fuelling and maintaining a car makes owning one a status symbol in our materialistic society. The high taxes associated with vehicle ownership make officials deaf to calls for better cycling facilities. Well-worn excuses are given for why cycling isn't a transport option. Our roads are too narrow and not suited to bicycles, we're told; that makes riding a bike dangerous. Another reason is that our climate is hot and humid in summer. It's even been stated that roadside air pollution makes the option unhealthy. These aren't valid claims for the Mexico City businessman who straps his briefcase onto the back of a rental bike and rides to work through grid-locked traffic or the Barcelona teacher and her students who cycle to school.

A huge shift in thinking is obviously needed. Cycling is not a commuting alternative, but it has a part to play in the government's transport strategy. Bikes are well suited to the new towns of the New Territories, for travel within districts and on the outlying islands. They should be encouraged for road use through the provision of necessary facilities, not treated as merely for recreation. Little data is available on cycling in Hong Kong. There aren't any official figures on the number of bicycles, cyclists and daily bike trips. It's not clear how many people would take to two wheels instead of four given the right conditions. Independent assessment of such information is a perfect starting point for a government that claims to be working for our best interests.

I'm now riding to and from work (Causeway Bay) on an old road bike that I fixed up to be single speed. All going well so far. The locals think I'm nuts.

Also rode all the way around the Island today (as much as is possible on the roads that loop around) and it was not as far as I thought. It is not possible to go down some areas as the road is one way in and one way out, so my loop was only 39km.

Where exactly do you cycle from/to? Is it just within Causeway Bay?

I've seen (foreign) commuter-looking-people riding along Queensway, and that gave me hope. I'd still like to move down to HK at some point and would love to continue commuting by bike.

I'd add that it seems that cycling on Hong Kong island appears to have improved DRASTICALLY over the last 16 years. You used to not see bikes anywhere on the island, except for occasional delivery guys on big Flying Pigeons/Forevers or crappy mountain bikes. Now you at least see quite a few roadies on the weekends...

I'll be hitting up HK for most January to visit some relatives. Looks like shipping off my newly bought road bike with myself, XD, so I can ride in HK does not seems like it's a good idea from what you guys are saying. Well, not like it will be possible even if it is a good idea, seeing how my bike might not arrive by the time of my flight.

Anyway, I was wondering if it's possible that some of you cyclist there would have an extra bike that they can lend me and take me on a ride. ^^

I'll be hitting up HK for most January to visit some relatives. Looks like shipping off my newly bought road bike with myself, XD, so I can ride in HK does not seems like it's a good idea from what you guys are saying. Well, not like it will be possible even if it is a good idea, seeing how my bike might not arrive by the time of my flight.

Anyway, I was wondering if it's possible that some of you cyclist there would have an extra bike that they can lend me and take me on a ride. ^^

It depends how much riding you want to do. Plenty of guys out training in the mornings if you are keen.

Sometimes there are some spare bikes around, but it pays to know someone. If you are used to riding everyday or couple of days, then bring the bike. There are a few good clubs and cycling groups to meet up with.